Shawne Merriman stalked the sideline after his first turn on the field in 11 months.

“It feels great,” Merriman said.

All is well.

The Chargers lost 20-14 to the Seattle Seahawks last night in their preseason opener at Qualcomm Stadium as two Charlie Whitehurst turnovers led to 10 Seattle points in the second half.

That, as usual, was unimportant.

At this point, with most starters out shortly after the second quarter began, there is one thing paramount for the Chargers:

A team that stumbled to a .500 record in 2008, with many of its key players injured from the start of the season and then throughout, is healthy this August. Still.

Tomlinson, appearing in a preseason game for the first time since 2005, played 11 snaps, almost two full series. He touched the ball five times, gaining 10 yards on four carries and catching one pass for 8 yards.

He left the game after a 6-yard carry that saw him bounce outside in a manner rarely seen in an injury-plagued 2008.

“Right as I'm getting in a rhythm, it's time to get out,” Tomlinson, still smiling, said after the game.

Tomlinson even figures to get more work this month.

“I'm pretty sure that's not the only one I play in,” he said. “The purpose is to get in a tempo and get a rhythm going. We would like to start fast running the football. Last year, obviously, we struggled a little bit and that has a little bit to do with it.”

Merriman, who played three series, wore an ice pack for the bulk of the evening after his first action since last year's regular-season opener, which was followed a little more than a week later by major knee surgery. He was walking fine, and the ice was a precautionary measure that Merriman has adhered to every day in practice.

“I thought I was going to have a slower start, but I felt really good out there,” said Merriman, who left the game after making a tackle on his 13th snap. “It's a progression where every week I feel like I get to do something a little bit more.”

No one did more (or, at least, played more) last night than Vaughn Martin. The Chargers' fourth-round pick, who was the first Canadian college player to ever leave school early, played almost a full three quarters after starting in place of the injured Jacques Cesaire at right defensive end.

“The more experience he gets, the better chance he can help us,” coach Norv Turner said. “We're trying to get him three or four college games in this preseason.”

After inside linebackers Tim Dobbins and Kevin Burnett left at the end of the second quarter, Martin was the last remaining starter. The goal is to get him as up to speed as possible and get him in the rotation at defensive end by the regular season.